Tripyramids Loop - 5/13/15

It was another beautiful Wednesday night in the mountains. This week's adventure would take my brother, friend Alton, and I around the classic Tripyramids Loop, up the North Slide, over the Tripyramids, and down the South Slide.  We were treated to great trail conditions and comfortable temperatures for this nice evening jaunt into the Sandwich Range Wilderness.

Beautiful afternoon in the Sandwich Range Wilderness

Only ice left at the beginning of the slide

We just missed the sun going down behind the peaks, but the sunset we did have provided enough of an epic scene for what is always a fun climb up the North Slide. Here's a sampling of photos from the sunset ascent. Be sure to check out the full album to see much more (link below).

Carrigain & Vose Spur in the pink glow above the shadowy horizon on the right.

Looking to the left in the photo above, here is a close up of the summit of Tecumseh.

Bill, super-pup Cole, and I stop for a breather on the North Slide.

Taking it all in....

Sunset behind the Osceola's

North Tripyramid Summit

Middle Tripyramid Summit

Cole looks out and over the South Slide. It was beautiful here, and very silent.

Descending the South Slide

Highlights:

Tripyramids - 10th Round
North Tripyramid - 600th White Mountain 4,000-footer
My brother's first hike in the White Mountain since last summer.
Sunset from North Slide. I have now seen sunset and sunrise from the North Slide

Trail Conditions:
The route is bare all of the way (including the North Slide) to the woods at the top of the slide. Once at the junction near the summit, a thin monorail exists, which was mostly avoidable or had hardened foot-steps. There was almost no ice, and we never needed micro-spikes. Right from the summit of South, and all the South Slide was also bare. Finally happy to put the snowshoes and micro spikes away for good away after this week.

Livermore Road 

A bare North Slide 

Monorail at 4,000 ft.

Hike Stats
Trails: Livermore Road, Mt. Tripyramid Trail

Distance: 10.5 miles

Elevation Gain: 3,3238 ft.

Actual Book Time: 5:35
Garmin Adventure Link
Photo Album Link

Sandwich Range Traverse - 4/26/15

Had a really nice hike on the Sandwich Range this weekend, joined by Rich aka "Greenleaf" for the occasion.  It has been one of the most challenging months (in terms of my goals) in the last few years of hiking for me, having reached 34 4,000-footers in the month of April.  I was pleased to have such a pleasant day on the range.  It was pretty quiet and peaceful, and the trail stories from the AT, PCT, and others from Greenleaf were intriguing all along the way.

Pine Bend Brook

Making the way up the steep section on Pine Bend Brook

Temperatures were overall pretty comfortable. We would switch from t-shirts to light jackets several times.  The clouds were just above the summits of the Tripyramids so it was cool when we hit the ridge in the morning.  The clouds dissipated somewhat from there, despite a forecast of possible rain in the afternoon, and from the point of reaching the South Tripyramid Slide until the end we had mostly good views when you see them and just a few random sprinkles along the way.

View from North Tripyramid 

View from Middle Tripyramid 

View from the South Slide 

View from Passaconaway

It's always nice to meet those who follow my blog on the trail. Pleasure to meet Greg and Erica. Thank you for following and sharing your compliments. Happy Trails!

Highlights:
Tripyramids - 9th Round
Whiteface & Passaconaway - 8th Round
"Gridded" out April on Passaconaway.

Trail Conditions:
The entire length of the hike had a very stable monorail, slowly deteriorating. There were lots of post holes to avoid, but the hard surface made it mostly pleasant. We bare-booted to the steepness on Pine Bend Brook, then used microspikes all of the way until we reached bare ground on the Dicey's Mill Trail near the Tom Wiggin Junction. There were a few other miscellaneous bare spots along the way. Snowshoes got a ride on the back all day.

Hike Stats

Trails: Pine Bend Brook Trail, Mt. Tripyramid Trail, Kate Sleeper Trail, Rollins Trail, Dicey's Mill Trail

Distance: 15 miles

Elevation Gain: 5,443 ft.

Actual Book Time: 7:56
Garmin Adventure
Photo Album Link

The Tripyramids for Sunrise & Tom, Field, Willey - 6/21/14

Way back at the end of June, I did a fun double-hit-and-run of a couple of hikes for my 6th round.  The Tripyramids and Tom, Field, and Willey.  It just so happened that one of the Tripyramids would be the completion of my 3rd solo round of the 4,000-footers, AND it was the day of the summer solstice - an exciting day to hike!  I was shooting for sunrise, but I had not decided which route of ascent until I was at the Livermore Trail head.  I then decided to go North first, but didn't decide whether to take Scaur Trail or the North Slide. As I approached the junction for the North loop, which is right near the Scaur, I took a look at the time, and decided that my best chance to make it up for sunrise is if I take the direct climb up the slide.  It would be slowly getting lighter as sunrise approached, so I went for it.

Mt. Tripyramid Trail, North

Looking down into the night on the slide

On the way in, I past a tent set-up along the road. There are big construction vehicles around from the current work going on.  The campers had placed a very large branch across the road as if a bear would trip over it and alert them something was near.  The slide was almost completely dry except for a few small spots of no concern.  I had only been up here once in winter, during my first round.  It was nice to be back to check it out.  The temperature, I recall, was about perfect, it was a beautiful clear sky, and I smoothly and comfortably ascended the North Slide under some stars.  About 3/4 of the way up, the orange glow of sunrise crept above the easterly mountains to my left.

Start of summer from the North Slide

I made pretty good time up the slide, moved to the left to connect with the trail, and in minutes, I was on North Tripyramid.  I looked at the time, and I still had 30 minutes to sunrise.  Instead of hanging out, I had just enough time to test myself for sunset on Middle.

A cool look from North Tripyramid, half hour before sunrise

Just enough indeed as I busted out the eight-tenths of a mile, reaching the summit of Middle Tripyramid with about 5 minutes until the sun came up.  From a peak I have not given too much attention, sunrise for my 3rd solo round was pretty amazing.  The sun reflected a pink color off the sky, and the moon added some punch to the scene.  It was just awesome, and I took it all in, by myself, with not a sound or soul around. I bundled up a little because it was chilly, but I didn't miss a second of it.

Mt. Passaconaway, pink clouds, and the moon 

Sunrise from Middle Triptramid 

Summit panorama 

Summit selfie for 3rd solo round   

I lingered until the sun was well over the mountaintops before moving on.  I was really impressed and surprised by the sunrise I was afforded, and happy to have made a nice moment to associate with the Tripyramids.  I was feeling pretty motivated, ready to move on.  The glow of the sun lit up the mountainside and trail in a striking way as I head towards South peak.  Entering the south slide, the crisp morning view provided was just about the best I've seen from that spot.  I completed this 11.1 mile hike with a swift pace, especially for early morning, in just 4:45.  I passed the campers with a smile, as they had just started walking up the Livermore. :)  I had other mountains to tend to on this first day of summer.

Mt. Tripyramid Trail between Middle and South peak

Morning view from South Slide (Snows Mountain, I think)

Next up, I drove directly to Crawford Notch, stopping only at the Irving. I pulled into the depot, and sure enough, I was the last one that wouldn't fit, which meant I had to go down by the Jackson Trail head.  Just as I did, cars were literally pulling in behind me, alongside the road, in almost caravan style.  I was hoping to chillout in the car for a few minutes before starting but it was like there were scores of people about to attack the Avalon Trail, I decided the hell with it, I barely did any re-arrangement of my bag, no rest, nothing, I was off up the trail, and it was 8:45am.

Avalon Trail

A dip in the trail along the way

Mt. Tom Spur

It was a beautiful day as the morning's cues indicated it would be.  Temps were tame, as I remember, and the hike was nice and smooth.  Despite the hoards of people I noticed below making dashes to various trail heads, overall, the hike was pleasant and more peaceful than I thought.  I cruised over the summits taking in exceptional views that rank high among my 6 visits to each. I took a panorama to represent each one.  When I reached Mt. Willey, it was the first complete 3-season solo round.  That means Willey was the only I had not climbed solo in 3-season.  On the way back, I got the typical, "Whoa, you got Willey already?" from a passing hiker, but actually I am slower on this hike when its not covered in snow.  Anyways, I was probably slower at the beginning than the end, from having hiked earlier. It was close to 2:00pm when my hiking for the day was done.  It was pretty fun first day of summer, and I head to my camp where I enjoyed the afternoon with my brother and parents, for it was their anniversary.

      

View from Mt. Tom

View from Mt. Field

View from Mt. Willey

Tripyramids Hike Stats

Trails: Livermore Trail, Tripyramid Trail (Loop)

Distance: 11.1 miles

Elevation Gain: 3,129 ft.

Actual Book Time: 4:45
GPS Track: Garmin Adventures

Tom, Field, Willey Hike Stats

Trails: Chimney Pond Trail, North Basin Trail, North Basin Cut-off, Hamlin Ridge Trail

Distance: 8.8 miles

Elevation Gain: 3,40 ft.

Actual Book Time: 5:39
GPS Track: Garmin Adventures

W48-in-1: Sandwich Range Traverse - 12/22/12

To say that the first hike of the winter was a challenge, would be an understatement. This one had its good and bad, and  little bit of what winter hiking is all about. It was snow showering for all thirteen and half hours, and my water was frozen pretty quickly. This was a solo Sandwich Range traverse over the Tripyramids, Whiteface, and Passaconaway on December 22nd.  I was hiking the Tripyramids for the first time solo, and Whiteface and Passaconaway for the first time in winter.

Thanks to my dad for the ride from Ferncroft, where I left my car, to the Kanc. Just steps after the trail head sign for the Pine Bend Brook Trail, snowshoes were necessary, as there was a crust layer with at least 3 inches of snow underneath. As I went further, it got deeper under the crust (it was this way and sometimes deeper all hike long). The first mile, I was getting the feel for the snowshoes again, because I knew I'd have them on all day. No one had been up the trail, as I suspected would be the case.

Pine Bend Brook Trail

The Pine Bend brook crossings were not much of an issue, except for getting the feel again of hopping over rocks with a foot of snow on them with your snowshoes. I entered the Sandwich Range Wilderness, and all I could think of was that the Sandwich Range Wilderness was going to kick my ass today, but I kept on going - I didn't really have a choice. The trail steepens shortly after crossing the wilderness boundary. At this point, it was like hitting a wall in terms of having my pace. It took me a little over 3 hrs to reach North Tripyramid.

Brook crossing on Pine Bend Brook Trail

Entering the Sandwich Range Wilderness

It's nice when the trail has a section broken up with junctions. It felt like a matter of minutes, and I had gone .8 miles, and arrived at the summit of Middle Tripyramid. Middle Tripyramid was my 45th solo 4000 footer. There wasn't much of a view. I started to settle for a break in the trees, but after a minute or so, my hands said otherwise. I got moving again, and took it later. The rest of the way over to South Tripyramid and down to the slide opening was uneventful, and rather gentle compared to the steep part of the ascent.

Looking down Tripyramid's south slide

As I started to cross the south slide, I realized that the conditions were pretty unstable. About 10 steps in, my snowshoe made a top crust piece about 2 manhole covers wide fall down the slide a good distance. The granular underneath gave me a mini avalanche show as it built up on its way down. It was quite interesting and difficult. A misstep here would have easily resulted in a slide all of the way down into the trees. I shuffled my way carefully over to the left to meet up with the Kate Sleeper sign.

Kate Sleeper trail sign

I knew the next part of this hike was going to be VERY difficult with the recent damage, but the Kate Sleeper had no issues all of the way to the East Sleeper junction. I noticed the trail damage immediately behind the junction sign, but before venturing forward, I quickly went up and bagged East Sleeper in the winter, why not right?

Sleepers, East Peak

You can see in the background of the photo about the massive damage sustained in the area from recent storms. Picture a narrow trail with huge trees crossing everywhere. As I started into the area after East Sleeper, doing my best to stay with the trail, it looked like there was no trail, and it was all completely open. The place was obliterated, and just when I thought I was doing well, I was almost doing a lap around the back of East Sleeper. While it didn't come quickly at all, I was able to get my path back on track. This became a bushwhack from hell, with an increasing amount of nervousness every minute. I nearly lost one of my 32oz water bottles, and my snowshoe got caught between two blowdowns, nearly hyper-extending my knee. Once I found the trail again, it didn't get an easier, and I was literally crawling on hands on knees and walking across trees about 5 feet off the ground in snowshoes. I was relieved as I could ever be when I saw brownish snow, which was the Downes Brook running underneath the snow cover. Unfortunately, I have no photos or video from this ordeal. It required 100% of my attention, and I didn't want to risk losing anything.

On the ascent to the Rollins Trail, I battled a few more blowdowns and some hangers. I was excited to hit the Rollins Trail. I actually took a break of about 10 minutes here to re-gather myself, and I threw on my North Face down vest on under my new Arc'teryx Theta AR hard shell. I was plenty warm now, and was gearing up for some night-time winter hiking. After the nice break, I took another quick stop on my way past the summit of Whiteface while the sky still had some blue in it. This was my first time to the summit of Whiteface in winter.

Mt. Whiteface summit

Shortly later, the headlamp became necessary; I had strapped it on at the last break. I had just picked up a new Black Diamond Scope headlamp, which was great. It was the only light aid I needed the rest of my way. The Rollins Trail is really narrow. It's easy to follow when there are no blowdowns, but I did encounter one really rough section, and then it was difficult to find the narrow trail on the other side. This was the last section of ridiculous blowdowns I experienced. The only other problem on the rest of the Rollins Trail were heavy hanging trees and twigs iced in place. Despite this, I was in pretty good spirits because of a sweet winter evening view of Passaconaway, to which I was headed. The moon was present off and on behind the clouds, and the lights shone below in Wonalancet, which meant I would be back at my car soon.

Mt. Passaconaway seen from the Rollins Trail

The moon provided a slight extension to daylight

After what felt like a really long time, I finally made it to the junction with the Dicey's Mill Trail. What I saw was the most welcome sight all day, human tracks. I decided to leave my pack at the junction and go up to Passaconaway lightweight. I had tracks leading the way, but still this 700 foot gain is never easy. As I ascended, the wind was picking up, which made me be on high-alert for any cracking sound. About half way up, I heard the crack I dreaded. It was a safe distance off the trail, but it was loud. I don't think it sent the tree crashing, but it was enough to send chills right through me, despite me being complete;y warm in my new jacket. I passed the brief opening, which was completely dark with white snow barreling through. In just a few feet I was passing the sign directing me to the completely enclosed summit. Both of my waters were completely frozen at the junction, so I drank a sip of my Gatorade which I had stuffed in my down vest near my stomach for the jaunt to the summit. After my refreshing sips of unfrozen Gatorade, I descended back to my pack as quickly as I could.

Sign for Passaconway summit

This is when I did the Spot check-in, "All ok on the trail." The Spot stayed attached to my pack as it sat at the junctions, but seemed to report my location as if I was doing circles in a very small radius. It may have seemed like I was lost if you were following, but I had informed home base that I was leaving the pack there.  This is and the not-so-perfect track is all a drawback of the Spot, which does not work well in the trees. The new smartphone apps produce far better tracking maps. 

Now, all I had to do was follow the Dicey's Mill Trail and the tracks before me down to Ferncroft. To the person who hiked Passaconway last, thank you. You made the end of this brutal hike much more pleasant. Right after passing the junction with the Tom Wiggin trail, which is about halfway down, the wind picked up ferociously through the area, blowing the snow more, and putting me back on high alert for falling trees. As I looked up, sometimes the moon would be there, and at another time I would see some stars, and the faint outline of the mountains against the sky. This was a really intense, but beautiful atmosphere.

Dicey's Mill Trail brook crossing (crossed the rocks on the right in this photo) 

Ferncroft Road

Thirteen and a half hours later, it was still cold and it was still snowing. Through that, I broke trail for most of the 16.7 miles all done in snowshoes. I picked up two new winter peaks, and my first four peaks of this winter 48 goal. I'll just call this first winter hike the ultimate winter hiking preparedness course. Instead of a second hike this weekend, I got to watch the Pats and bring you the nitty gritty details from this challenging ordeal. I'll be back at it later next week!

Hike Stats
Trails: Pine Bend Brook Trail, Mt. Tripyramid Trail, Kate Sleeper Trail, Rollins Trail, Dicey's Mill Trail, Blueberry Ledge Trail

Distance: 16.7 miles

Elevation Gain: 5,250 ft.

Actual Book Time: 13hrs 30min